****UPDATE****
This cop is a STRAIGHT asshole!! I love how he’s not a racist, but the most recent incident he can remember was in 19 fucking 93!! Anyone who can say “oh I helped a black person then” or “i’m not racist I’ve got a black friend” is seriously some what of a racist. UGGGGHHH!!! arsehole! OH, and he said he will NEVER apologize
**** END update****
I’ve been away for the past few days, so I’m just now getting to discuss the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. Does everyone know who he is? If you don’t I’m going to suggest you use your Google function quickly! Skip over the recent news articles and find a quick bio, ok!
I don’t really need to get into what happened because most people know by now that Professor Gates was arrested at home after a cop reported to his home for a possible burglary. I think it’s a sad shame that we really don’t live in a post racial US, but to anyone who that’s a surprise to, they need a wake up call.
Gates was arrested for disorderly conduct — what the arresting officer described as “loud and tumultuous behavior in a public space.” I’m sorry, I thought home was private? Since when did someone’s home become a public space? And why did the cop feel the need to arrest him after he showed ID that that was indeed his home? What was the point of continuing questioning after you had verifiable proof that this was the homeowner? This is why so many people share the epitome that cops suck. They really do. They go on serious power trips. They make the few good cops look bad.
Gates was quoted as saying
“We depend on the police-I’m glad that this lady called 911. I hope right now if someone is breaking into my house she’s calling 911 and the police will come! I just don’t want to be arrested for being black at home! I think this was a bit of an extreme reaction.”
The cop refused to show his identification and escalated a hostile situation. He got arrogant and Gates got defensive. It happens many many times with cops. It really sucks that the cop won’t even apologize. I despise people who can’t admit their wrongs. It’s so unattractive. Just admit officer, your a po po in the well known racist area surrounding Cambridge, Massachusetts. You saw an opportunity to exercise the power of the blue shield & used it. UGH.. lemme go on..
I think I’m more upset about some of the comments and things I’ve read on sites like Detroit Free Press and others. Some posters wonder why you would ever question or get snarky with a cop (I didn’t know cops had the right to be bastards???). One poster said he hopes his home really does get robbed, things of that nature. His case is up opening up dialogues about racial profiling and affirmative action. I love to hear dialogue about subjects like this from knowledgeable sources. But when people begin to make blanket statements like “there’s money for blacks to go to college just for being black” I want to jump through my computer screen and smack that person. I hate when people say that black people are given jobs just because of AA. What fucking world do people live in?
Right now the biggest people profiting from Affirmative action are Hispanics. I really do see it AND believe it. Many under barely qualified people are getting jobs just because they can speak two languages. I’m a firm believer that to survive in America you need to speak English. Im sick of getting sent 2 copies of every damn document because people refuse to learn it. It may sound crude or whatever, but hey it’s how I feel.
Back on track, if blacks were given priority then why do they have the highest rates of being being laid off in these “hard economic times?” I don’t believe any person of minority – of any minority- who says they’ve never been stereotyped. It does still happen. I witness it more often than I’d like. I don’t even have to time address this foolishness. I’m going to go watch my recorded Black in America 2 w/ Soledad O’Brien.
I’ts amazing how these types of incidents continue to occur. It just underscores how critically important it is that we have an open and honest dialogue about race in this country.
Over the last ten years, and particularly since the election of President Obama, there is a rush to assert the absence or death of racism in this country; but to paraphrase Mark Twain, the reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated. Indeed, there are revisionists of history who not only seek to justify slavery, and segregation, but lay the blame on blacks. White folks do not want to accept the fact that they have built in advantages, and the playing field is not level!!
Further, I always hear about blacks not wanting to work and not seeking employment; yet, when I (currently unemployed) go to the employment office or job fairs it’s 90% black–at least! Basically, the only whites are the ones taking resumes and applications. (Additionallly, I live in South Carolina where the black population is probably a little less than 30%!)